 |
||||||||
 |
||||||||
|
||||||||
|
Pricey demonstration to pluck lake muck
By MAUREEN BYRNE AHERN
But without actually trying the rapid dewatering technique they want to use, they're not positive it will work. So Bob Hayes says he'll conduct a free demonstration. His Lakeland engineering company, Hayes-Bosworth, and two others -- EIMCO Process Equipment and Bird Machine -- will spend $1-million of their own money to show county and state officials that they can refresh the 684-acre lake. They will set up 30 tons of equipment in the north section of Lake Seminole Park that is closed to the public. "It's not altruism at all," Hayes said. The companies plan to remove 1,000 cubic yards of sediment, a drop in the bucket but enough to answer some questions, said David Talhouk, the county engineer overseeing the cleanup. "I certainly think they deserve some kudos for their efforts," he said. Residents who have questions about the demonstration can ask them at a public meeting from 4-7 p.m. Oct. 30 at Osceola High School, 9751 98th St. N, Seminole. Even if the monthlong project in November is a success, it won't guarantee Hayes and his associates the job. "They approached us and said you got a problem out there and we think we can help you," Talhouk said. "There is no commitment for anybody to do the actual project. When we get to doing the project, everyone will be allowed to bid on this." The dredging won't begin for at least two years because of funding and permit constraints, but there are other muck-filled lakes in Florida. Hayes welcomes the people overseeing those potential cleanup projects to come observe the demonstration. "This technology has been done around the world for years," said Hayes, who says he has 40 years of engineering experience in the United States and abroad. "We've put together a bunch of equipment and designed a process specifically for Florida." Hayes says he and his associates are tired of trying to persuade government agencies that they can remove the crud that has accumulated on the bottom of many of Florida's lakes. He says regulatory concerns and red tape delay the much-needed restoration projects. He and his partners haven't cleaned a Florida lake yet because no one has given the technology a chance. The county has been trying to figure out where and how to process the sediment in Lake Seminole for years. Without a large area of land to dry the sludge, options are limited. St. Petersburg has its own muck problem with Lake Maggiore, a 385-acre lake that for decades has served as a de facto retention pond for a 2,290-acre area of homes, parks and a golf course. The city has been exploring options for cleaning up that body of water since 1996. The dredging of Lake Seminole is only one component, albeit the most expensive, of the county's $15-million cleanup plan for the lake. County officials think it could cost up to $10-million. Hayes says he would give the county a final report of the demonstration project and a cost estimate for the full-scale operation, which he says would take about a year.
The process would involve injecting a polymer into the sediment and squeezing water out of the muck. The polymer combines with the sediment, making it heavier, so that it settles out of the water. The sediment is then spun in a large machine. The cleaned-up water can be put back in the lake. The dry residue would be trucked to the Toytown landfill to help build a new golf course there. It's much faster than the conventional method, which pumps sediment into ponds, where it eventually settles and dries. Trucks then cart the dry residue to a holding area. But in an urban area like Pinellas, there isn't enough land available for large drying beds. If left alone, Lake Seminole would continue to fill with muck until it became nothing but a marsh, hardly suitable for skiing, much less fishing. The Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission says bass and bluegill, once the staples of the lake's fishing business, have declined sharply since the 1960s. Lake Seminole is now dominated by gizzard shad and tilapia -- junk fish to many anglers. During the past 50 years, stormwater carrying lawn fertilizer, motor oil, sewage and other chemicals has washed in, clogging the lake bottom with silt and damaging its ecosystem. So county engineers and environmental consultants are working to reverse that trend and make the lake a viable fishery once again.
 © 2006 • All Rights Reserved • St. Petersburg Times
490 First Avenue South • St. Petersburg, FL 33701 • 727-893-8111 
|
From the Times South Pinellas desks Letters |
